Cross Stitching in America
by poestheblackcat
Summary: She doesn't mind, not really. Except she does. Parker on writing Hardison's paper for him in "The Experimental Job." I'm reposting this with a new title because the original story, posted 12/8/11, got deleted for the reason that the title was inappropriate.


Summary: She doesn't mind, not really. Except she does. Parker on writing Hardison's paper for him in "The Experimental Job." I'm reposting this with a new title because the original story got deleted for the reason that the title was inappropriate.

The title used to be "Stitch 'n [expletive that rhymes with 'ditch']." This, actually, is the title of a series of (really awesome) how-to knit and crochet books. Unfortunately, the site thinks that any usage of [expletive that rhymes with 'ditch'] in the title (no matter that it's an allusion to a perfectly benign series of books) or summary is inappropriate, so the story got deleted. I'm reposting this with a new title - the title of the paper Parker wrote for Hardison in the episode.

Thank you for putting up with this repost.

* * *

**Cross-Stitching in America**

She doesn't mind, not really.

She even likes cross-stitching in her free time herself. Sharp needles and tiny scissors, colorful thread, even rows of Xs gradually coming together to form a picture - what's not to like? She loves the way the embroidery floss feels going through the fabric, the needle flashing in and out of the tiny, even holes, just like the way she slides through air vents and into secret rooms and bank vaults.

She likes making her own designs. So far, she's embroidered a map of the first floor of the Louvre, an old warehouse exploding with lots of pretty, pretty fire colors, an amoeba, the Dresden Green Diamond, and a portrait of Bunny.

Right now, she's working on an enlarged picture of the team. She has Nate and Hardison done, and Sophie, too, although she's not quite right yet because the Sophie in her embroidery is acting like she's conning a mark instead of being We're-Not-Supposed-To-Say-Her-Real-Name-In-Front-Of-Nate Sophie, which is the Sophie Parker likes the best.

She hasn't done herself yet, and Eliot is only half-finished. The silver needle's poking through his chest, and she hastily moves it to the open space around him just in case voodoo dolls really work. He scowls at her anyway. She makes a face back at him and pokes him with her index finger just 'cause.

Seeing Hardison on the pattern next to Eliot, she takes the needle back out of the fabric and stabs his face with it. Twice. Then she feels bad and rubs her finger over the stitches making up the hacker's grinning face.

He was the one who'd been wrong, right? He'd asked her to write the paper for him because he was too busy to do it himself, and she'd done it, and that was okay. Because she likes Hardison and she likes cross-stitching, and it had been kind of fun to look up information about her secret hobby that she hadn't known before.

But.

He hadn't even been grateful. She'd done his homework for him, and that's cheating. Even she knows that, and he'd just said _Thanks, but I don't need it after all_.

That's the same as him saying he doesn't need her. Isn't it?

She remembers Sophie saying something like that once, when the grifter had wanted someone female to complain to about Nate and the way he treats her. At the time, Parker hadn't understood - Of course Nate needs her. She's Sophie. And he's Nate. And Nate needs Sophie. In Parker's mind, it was as simple as that.

But now…

Now, she's not sure. Now, she thinks, _Maybe this was what Sophie meant. I'm becoming matter-of-fact to him. He doesn't appreciate me._

So she goes over to Sophie and asks her if this was what she'd meant. Sophie huffs and says, _Men. Always taking us for granted_. And then she sighs and takes Parker's hand in hers and tells her seriously, _Sometimes, men can be like children, so it's up to us to be the adults and give them what they need. See if that helps._

So she goes to Hardison's temporary dorm room and knocks and even waves a white handkerchief before she pokes her head in because she'd seen someone do it in a movie once and Hardison's shy about her seeing him naked for some weird reason, and then she sees the file. The CIA file with Hardison's picture in it, the file that connects him to Eliot. The file they'd planted before starting the con but had come back to bite them in the ass.

She sees the file, and all she can think is, _They've got Hardison. But I need him. He's _mine.

And she gets mad, because Hardison's hers, Alec is _hers_, and they can't steal him from her because _she's_ the world's greatest thief.

So she goes and gets him. Steals him back.

And he's thankful, oh-so-grateful, and he needs her after all, needs her so, so much.

She shares a secret smile with Sophie later.

_Men._

She pokes the needle into Hardison's chest, right into his heart. That's where she is.

X marks the spot.


End file.
